October Nights
by fistfulsofwords
Summary: McSwarek bakes cookies...among other things. Pure fluff and banter. Inspired by a submission to imagineyourotp over at tumblr. Please like and review!


AN: Hooray for my first ever story! I welcome reviews and constructive criticism, so if you like it or if you think it needs a little work, please let me know! Thanks and enjoy!

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"Sam, stop it!" Andy shrieked as a handful of chocolate chips flew her way. She ducked, but a few still landed in her hair.

"You better be quiet, McNally. Don't want to wake the neighbors up," Sam quipped. Andy tentatively looked over the edge of the counter, prepared for another attack. But Sam sat on one of her bar stools and smirked as he popped a few chocolate chips into his mouth.

Andy huffed and stood up. Chocolate chips fell off her pajamas and clattered to the floor, rolling away beneath the oven and the fridge. "Great, now I have to clean that up, too. I thought I asked you to help, not make a mess of my kitchen." Andy crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Sam, who continued to smirk at her.

"Well, technically, I never said I would help," Sam started.

Andy held a hand up and said, "Spare me the technicalities. I should have known you would try and back out of doing any work." She shook her head and pinched the top of her nose between her eyes, where a headache was forming.

"First of all, you know why I'm here, and it's not for cookies. At least not the edible kind anyway." Sam raised an eyebrow and smirked again, his dimples deepening. Andy rolled her eyes. "And secondly, I don't know why you waited this long. You've known about this thing for weeks," Sam said, referring to the public Halloween party that the precinct held every year. Families from the area were invited to donate to the holiday charity fund and in exchange, they could partake in Halloween activities and food provided by the station.

Andy started to put chocolate chips and orange m&m's into the cookie dough. "It seemed so far away last week," she provided weakly. Sam laughed and Andy looked up sharply, glaring at him again.

"What?" Sam shook his head at her. "You gotta admit, this is pretty funny. You, Andy McNally, the girl who does everything by- the- book and on time, waiting until the last moment to make cookies, after you signed up because you thought it would be the easiest thing to do. I think I'm starting to rub off on you, McNally."

"I'd rather make cookies than stand out in the cold and direct traffic," Andy retorted.

"It's security detail, and I signed up for it so I don't have to wear a costume," Sam fired back.

Andy turned and put the baking sheet full of cookies into the oven. She set the timer and then turned back to the counter. "Wearing a costume is fun," she defended.

Sam raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over the counter and leaned in. "Only if it involves more skin than clothing," he said quietly, a smile tugging at his lips.

Andy leaned on the counter across from him, effectively giving him a nice view of her cleavage over the top of her tank top. She felt some satisfaction as his eyes darkened and he stared at her, alternating glances between her eyes and her chest. "I obviously don't need a costume," Andy remarked lightly, leaning back and busying herself with tidying up the counter. All the while, she watched him out of the corner of her eye, making sure he was tracking her every movement.

Andy had told Sam that she needed him to pick up stuff for cookies and then come over to help when his shift ended. She'd lie if she said that was the only reason he was here. It had been a hectic couple of weeks, with Sam running from one case to the next and working late, only running into Andy as they passed each other in opposite directions when she came in for her night shifts. It was the first night in a while that they were able to spend more than a few moments together. And the fact that it was outside of work was the reprieve that they both had been waiting for.

Now, Sam slid off his stool and came around the counter. Andy turned around to face him and he pinned her against the counter, his arms braced on either side of her. "Those cookies take 35 minutes to bake. What do you think we could do in 35 minutes?" He asked nonchalantly.

Andy shrugged and fingered the hem of his t-shirt. "I don't know. We could watch TV, or I could put a load of laundry in."

"It's a little late for that, don't you think?" Sam asked, his fingers slipping under the hem of her tank top and brushing the skin just above her pajama bottoms.

Andy looped her arms around Sam's neck and said, "Yeah, wouldn't want to wake the neighbors."

Sam smiled down at her and whispered, "Think you can be quiet?"

Andy raised her eyebrows. "Is that a challenge?"

Sam leaned down and his breath fanned across her lips as he murmured, "You and I both know who would win in that game."

Andy rolled her eyes and stood on her toes to press her lips against his. He pulled her flush against him and kissed her back, the past few weeks of nothing igniting into the fire of _finally something_.

Clothes were shed and a hasty trip to the bedroom ensued. A while later, as Sam and Andy lay beside each other, their skin cooling and their breathing slowing, Andy sat up with a start.

"Do you smell that?" She asked, turning to look at Sam. He shook his head sleepily as he lazily traced patterns on her bare back with his fingers.

"Sam! The cookies!" Andy shot out of bed and threw on his t-shirt. She ran barefoot to the kitchen, where the clock told her that the cookies had been in the oven far longer than the recipe indicated.

"Shit. Shitshitshitshitshit," Andy whispered as she turned off the oven and opened the door. Inside, where the cookies had been, were black charred lumps. The smell of burnt dough filled the apartment.

"Now I smell it," Sam remarked as he came out of the bedroom wearing his boxers.

Andy glared at him. "What am I supposed to do now?"

"Don't look at me. It's not my fault you forgot about those damn cookies. Or maybe it is…" Sam grinned at her. "You could always just forget about the cookies and come back to bed. You know everyone always makes extra anyway."

"It was a rhetorical question, Sam." Andy pulled the tray out of the oven and set it on the stovetop. She stared dejectedly at the ruined cookies. Sam came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her middle. He put his chin on her shoulder and when he spoke, she could feel his jaw move up and down against her shoulder.

"You worry too much. They're just cookies, Andy."

Andy leaned back against him, knowing that he was right. But if Andy McNally was anything, she was dedicated, and she was determined to figure out how to fix this.

"I guess I'll just have to go and buy some," she sighed.

Sam immediately let go of her. "Not tonight, we're not."

Andy turned and clasped her hands together, playfully pleading with him. "Please, Sam. I'm not going to have any time tomorrow and you're the one with a car. It'll be quick, I promise."

"That's what you said last time," Sam said. "And then I ended up having to watch you and your dad embarrass yourselves."

Andy huffed and crossed her arms. "I could always go by myself."

"Just wait until the morning, Andy. Come back to bed."

Andy set her lips and went back to the bedroom. Sam followed, thankful that he had talked her out of this one.

But when he reached the bedroom door, Andy was pulling on her pajama pants and a sweatshirt. Sam let his head fall back in resignation before he grabbed his own sweats and jacket.

"You don't have to come with me," Andy offered as she pulled her hair into a ponytail.

"Like I'm letting you go out in the middle of the night by yourself," Sam replied gruffly.

Andy smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "You owe me," Sam grumbled as he followed her out the door.

The service station was empty except for the cashier, who was sleepily watching an old sitcom on a tiny television. The backtracked laughter was the only sound in the store. Andy quickly picked out a few plastic cartons of orange-frosted sugar cookies and paid the bored attendant, who didn't say a word.

Back at Andy's apartment, Sam kicked off his shoes and plopped down on the couch. He turned on the TV and flipped through the channels as Andy put the cookies in the fridge and cleaned up the mess they'd made earlier.

When she was finished, Andy stood for a second in her dimly lit kitchen, just watching Sam as he flipped through the channels. He looked up and caught her staring at him. Then he smiled softly at her and beckoned her over, patting the space in front of him.

Andy curled up against Sam on her couch and snuggled into him as his arms wrapped around her. "It's already 3 in the morning?" She remarked, noting the time on the TV guide.

"Yeah, you and your damn cookies kept us up later than expected," Sam grumbled.

Andy was about to say something back when the remote cursor stopped on a movie channel.

"Stop here," she said.

Sam looked down at her. "Really? 'Fright Night'?"

"What?" She asked, incredulous.

"This movie is awful."

"No, it's not."

"Andy."

"_Sam_."

Sam, too tired to argue, rolled his eyes and put the remote on the coffee table before pulling Andy closer and dragging the blanket off the back of the couch to cover them both. Andy, content with her small victory, settled against him, intertwining her fingers with his.

Sam fell asleep first, and not long after, Andy's eyes slipped closed as well, the blue flickering light and the screams from the TV fading into sleep.


End file.
